As GOP candidates vie for Bush backing, Jeb hangs back

George W. says he won?t be throwing his weight behind anyone in the Republican presidential nominating fight, although someone close to the former president said he has taken calls from a few candidates and dispensed only ?very generic? advice when asked.

Which leaves Jeb. Sr. ? the elusive endorsement that seems most coveted by the candidates.

The current presidential election cycle is the first since 1976 to be taking place without a Bush in a statewide or national office or seeking a national office. Yet the Bush family primary ? a behind-the-scenes drama that has been playing out in the GOP contest for months ? is taking on as much significance as ever.

To win an endorsement even from the most obscure of the Bushes ? George W. siblings Marvin and Doro have backed Romney ? is to share in a political brand that bestows legitimacy and open doors.

Much of the family?s vaunted fundraising network is either holding back or dispersing itself among various campaigns, depleting its influence as a singular force to pick a winner. So the major candidates are left to jockey for the next best thing: personal support.

Dynastic boost

Many Americans may see the Bushes as a relic of political history, a dynasty that boasted two former presidents and a former big-state governor but lost its luster when W. left the White House with rock-bottom approval ratings amid an economic collapse.

Even among some hard-core conservatives, the name evokes bad memories, such as the 1990 tax deal in which Bush 41 broke his ?read my lips? tax pledge, or the costly 2003 Medicare prescription drug legislation pushed by Bush 43 and cited by tea party activists as an example of Republicans losing their way.

Yet to Republicans who aspire to retake the White House and the legions of party activists who have worked for a Bush at one point or another, the family remains a symbol of political success.

And the dynasty?s imprimatur, like the Kennedy family backing (ultimately secured by Barack Obama) that was courted during the 2008 Democratic primary, brings clear advantages.

Four decades of politicking ? dating from George H.W. and Barbara Bush?s meticulous file card system to catalogue names and addresses ? has spawned the GOP?s most extensive network of activists and supporters still loyal to a single family.

?There are so many innumerable donors, activists, fundraisers and volunteers who have done so much to help George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Jeb Bush get elected,? said Florida-based lawyer Justin Sayfie, a former Jeb Bush aide who was a top bundler for George W. Bush and now backs Romney. ?There?s a long-standing loyalty factor among Republicans.?

Bush loyalists said the family has maintained its political networks. But in 2008 and now in 2012, the Bushes have refrained from directing donors to help certain White House contenders.

?They respected our right to make our own choices,? said Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, who raised money for 41 and 43 and is helping Perry.

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=9737b9b777c6b45d11cc085b17226d26

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